


The Daintiest Tea Set

by gaymingtrash



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pre-Relationship, bipolar!Anders
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-11
Updated: 2015-10-11
Packaged: 2018-04-25 23:15:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4980424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gaymingtrash/pseuds/gaymingtrash
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anders is not feeling on top form. Hawke's solution? Tea.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Daintiest Tea Set

Nobody had seen Anders in days.

There hadn’t been any of the usual expeditions that Hawke and his friends often found themselves on for a little while, and while he usually turned up at The Hanged Man to play cards, he hadn’t been there the last time they’d all got together. His absence had not gone unnoticed.

“Anders?” Hawke asked, opening the clinic door in hopes of finding him there. The lantern wasn’t lit outside – hadn’t been for a few days, according to the Darktown residents – but Hawke didn’t actually know where else he even spent his time.

He was met with a groan in response, the sound of which allowed him to locate the mage.

Anders was lying on his bed – fully clothed – curled up in on himself. He could have been mistaken for asleep were it not for his gaze. He was staring straight into the middle distance, and did not look at Hawke when he cautiously stepped deeper into the clinic.

“Anders, are you okay?” Hawke asked, and received a non-committal noise in return. Anders still did not look at him.

He hesitated, unsure of what move to make next. “I could make tea?” he offered, still standing awkwardly in the middle of the clinic. Anders didn’t respond at all, so, for lack of any other solution, Hawke busied himself in the area of the clinic that passed for a kitchen.

It wasn’t really a kitchen by anybody else’s standards. Anders had the most extensive collection of herbs in Kirkwall, but they all went into poultices for his patients. What he kept for himself was basic, bland – bread and salted fish, mostly. Red meat was a luxury to Anders, who had a few times been treated to a steak dinner by Hawke or Varric, and always looked upon it as if it was a gift from the Maker himself.

Among the basic, bulk ingredients stood out the most delicate, dainty little tea set, that Merrill had once gifted him. White pottery, with intricate blue floral patterns, and Rivaini tea leaves. Hawke felt uncomfortable handling the set in his large, clumsy feeling hands, but Merrill insisted that tea was a great comfort, and he wasn’t sure what else he could offer Anders right now.

He chatted away while he brewed it – filling the silence with the story of the shocking tale Isabela had come out with last time they were at The Hanged Man, which involved two Chantry sisters, a misplaced tunic, and some baffled livestock. He looked over at Anders fleetingly, and saw that the firm ridge in his brow had softened, slightly. He took this as a positive sign, and headed over to place the teacup on the small table beside the bed.

“You can’t drink this lying down, you know,” Hawke said, gently nudging at Anders.

“I can try,” came a small, hoarse voice. 

Hawke grinned. “Nah,” he said. “Come on.”

Anders shifted himself into a sitting position, and for the first time looked Hawke in the face. He seemed to visibly relax as he took the teacup from him, with slightly shaking hands.

“Thank-you,” he said quietly, looking back down at his cup.

“Any time,” Hawke said. “We missed you at cards the other night – I missed you.”

Anders ducked his head, tucking a stray tendril of hair behind one ear, but Hawke caught the slight, embarrassed smile on his face.

“Try not to disappear again?” Hawke asked.

“I’ll try,” Anders replied.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [The Daintiest Tea Set (Podfic)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6135924) by [therealmnemo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/therealmnemo/pseuds/therealmnemo)




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